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Antonella Artuso, Queen's Park Bureau Chief

Jul 10, 2014

, Last Updated: 7:15 AM ET

TORONTO -- Premier Kathleen Wynne is vowing to reintroduce legislation to boost penalties for distracted driving after a new study found that almost half of all licensed Ontario teens text behind the wheel.

"We are going to bring back the legislation that would toughen up the penalties and would add demerit points for texting and that kind of distracted driving," Wynne said Wednesday. "It's very worrisome to me because when young people start to have a habit of driving and texting, that's harder to break."

Legislation previously introduced by the Ontario Liberal government, which never made it into law, would have penalized a motorist convicted of distracted driving with a minimum fine of $300 and three demerit points.

Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca said he does not yet have a date for the reintroduction of the bill but expects it will be substantially the same piece of legislation and will be accompanied by a public education campaign.